Barking dog rules in Hamilton County, TN — also called nuisance dog, dog noise, or excessive barking ordinances — define when a barking dog becomes a code violation and how complaints are handled.
Keeping a dog that disturbs residents with frequent or long, continued noise is unlawful in Chattanooga. The code defines this as barking averaging 10 or more barks per minute over 5 minutes, audible from 100 feet or more away.
City Code Sec. 25-68(a)(4) makes it unlawful to keep any dog whose frequent or long, continued noise disturbs the comfort or repose of any person in a residence, hotel, motel or hospital. "Frequent or long, continued noise" includes barking at an average rate of ten or more barks per minute over a five-minute period that can be heard 100 feet or more away. It excludes a dog responding to an emergency or a trespasser on the owner's property. Animal complaints in Chattanooga and much of Hamilton County are handled through McKamey Animal Center. Tennessee's dangerous-dog statute (TCA 44-17-120) is a separate matter from noise.
Enforced as a noise violation: $50 citation fine per violation and civil penalty up to $500 in city court (Sec. 25-73).
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See how Hamilton County's barking dogs rules stack up against other locations.
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